Eerstelijns zorgregistraties leveren informatie over het gebruik en de kwaliteit van zorg, en ontwikkelingen in de volksgezondheid

Data primarily recorded for patient care are a valuable source of information for health services research and health monitoring. NIVEL started using such data in the mid 1990s in general practices. Similar data collections have been set up for physiotherapists, exercise therapists, dieticians and primary care psychologists. Real time surveillance of infectious diseases was recently added. In the coming years these data sources will be extended (out of hours services, pharmacies), integrated into one primary care information network and linked with other (secundary care) datasources to investigate patterns of health care utilisation. The results are important for the ministry of health and other stakeholders.